Suggestions for Chapin Parents on Purchasing

  • Suggestion #1: The computer should be in a central location in the house, e.g., living room, den; avoid putting the computer in your daughter's bedroom. Please think of the computer in its central location as an opportunity for parent-child communication. A computer in the home is a wonderful place for your daughter to show you stuff or to ask you questions.
  • Suggestion #2: Do you as parent know more about Macs or PCs? Who will be able to help your daughter with questions? Our technology at Chapin is NOT set on one platform in the Middle School or Upper School. Our Class 6 laptop program (LIP) uses the basic white Mac laptops, but all software is cross-platform.
  • Suggestion #3: If you are getting a laptop for the convenience of size, that is fine, but remember that this should not contradict the first principle.
  • Suggestion #4: Regardless of whether you purchase a Mac or PC, please make sure you add Microsoft Office, which consists of Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint, to its complement of software. This is required in our Class 6 laptop program.
  • Suggestion #5: Though a computer will last more than three years, you should be buying it as if it will self-destruct in exactly three years and cost-justify it on that basis. For that reason, it is generally best to buy "the least expensive model" and boost it with adequate RAM. This also means that when you buy it, you should be ready to invest the time with your daughter in learning and practicing the usage of software. If it is going to sit on a shelf not being used for six months or if you are going to wait a year before you sit down with your daughter and work together, then you should wait.

Overview

Because of issues of gender equity, it is not a mistake to think about purchasing a laptop or other computer for a 9-year-old. When one uses a computer frequently, when one explores and problem-solves, when one calls her parents over to show what she has "figured out" or can now do, there is a sense of ego development that Seymour Papert (creator of Logo) once shared as one of the two reasons for children using computers. He called them "body-syntonic" and "ego-syntonic." It is important for girls in their formative years to be thinking of the computer as a neat toy and neat tool, not as "something their parents use." Issues of math/science avoidance by females in our society have been a significant theme of education over the last 20 to 30 years. Computers are now falling into that trap, something that some people have begun to call the "pink-collar ghetto." If you think of the computer and your daughter in this context -- especially if you are willing to supplement this with your time as parent learning along with her, purchasing software, problem-solving together, then there is no question that this is cost-justified in terms of the value to her development.

Why Not Spend More Money?

Ever since the mid 1980's, I have been asked this question and have been giving the following advice!
  • Computers get dramatically better and cheapter every two to three years. In the industry, this is called Moore's Law.
  • So if you buy your daughter Mariah a computer in Class 6 for $2,000 to $2,500, and I buy my daughter Georgia a computer for $1,000 to $1300, let us see what happens in a few years.
  • Both girls will be VERY happy this year. More important than the model of computer we bought are factors such as how much software we bought, and whether we have a person we can lean on for "tips and training and support."
  • For the next year or two, Mariah will have a "better" computer, but screen size, hard drive size and CPU speed are not big deals for most users.
  • In two to three years, both computers will be getting old. I will be able to buy Georgia a new computer (if I feel like it) for $1,000 to $1,300 that is dramatically better than the one you purchased for Mariah. I may give the other one to another member of the family or a relative, or use it elsewhere.

Specifics (these change every few months)

  • The basic Mac laptop is now the 13" MacBook. More RAM is suggested, perhaps for a total of 1 gigabyte. This is the ONLY item on which you should go "beyond the basics." Microsoft Office (academic version) can be bought and added to this machine, for a total hardware-plus-software cost of less than $1,300. The MacBook is our best recommendation because it is powerful, inexpensive, flexible and capable of functioning as both a PC and a Mac.
  • Here are some MacBook links to help you:
    1. click here
    2. click here
    3. click here
    4. click here
    5. click here
  • It is absolutely fine to have a PC of any flavor or any other Mac besides the MacBook.
  • The current laptop used for the Class 6 laptop program is no longer available. It is called the IBook G4 with a 12.1-inch screen (the smaller model).
  • See "V for Vendors" on our Technology Tips for Parents page for sources from which to purchase.
  • Remember that you need to add Microsoft Office for about $150.
  • Remember that no Class 6 LIP parent needs to buy this machine. The requirements are simply to have Web access via any computer, plus Microsoft Office.

 

Last updated 11.20.06

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